I am thrilled today to present to you a TeamLiquid.net exclusive interview with MVP_TAiLS, one of the most dangerous team league players in all of Korea who often employs complicated unorthodox builds to confuse and dismantle his opponents. TAiLS is a prolific sniper in the GSTL, having beaten top names such as NesTea, IMmvp, YoDa and Ryung. A tactical genius, TAiLS alone as engineered countless of unique builds for himself and teammates, many of which once exposed, are rapidly studied by his peers and fans alike. Recently, TeamLiquid.net has even featured an in-depth analysis of one of his newest builds, the Dark Templar Drop FE, performed in the 2013 GSTL Season 1. With the Heart of the Swarm expansion, I can see Tails making a bigger impact in the competitive scene than ever before as he learns to utilize the newly added Protoss options.

I want to thank TAiLS for being generous enough to grant us this interview. And I hope that through interviews like these (which asks more HARD HITTING questions instead of the baloney that many official sources ask), fans can gain a better understanding of the players both as professionals and as people, and thereby better the narrative of eSports as a whole.

1. You display many innovative builds in the GSTL. How do you develop these builds and timings?

TAiLS: I try out a lot of weird builds on ladder (I lose a lot on ladder T.T) While that's going on, if I come across something that catches my eye, I study replays so I can make sure I know how to block any timing rushes that could hinder my new build from working out. After that, I play a countless number of games vs AI with that new build .

2. Do you practice your special builds on the ladder. How do you keep these builds secret for big matches like GSTL?

TAiLS: As I stated in my answer for question #1, I try out a lot of weird build orders on ladder. And rather than focus on perfection, I just play around with a lot of awkward timings and initiate attacks that are difficult to block. And while you can see all that on ladder, every other build that I work out against AI, I make sure to hide it from public eyes. I save those build orders for tournaments.

3. In PvT you seem to make a lot more stalkers than other Protoss players when facing marine/marauder/medivac in the mid-game -- what advantages does this style have versus a faster transition into colossus or templar tech?

TAiLS: Oh that. Well, that's not really something that is individually attributed to something that only I do... In PvT, if you have a lot of colossi, then you need to have a large number of stalkers to go along with them. Now, because you have a lot of colossi, templar tech tends to get delayed. Whether you go for fast templar tech or have at least three colossi, you need around 10 - 16 stalkers to go along with them. You need that many stalkers because of vikings. I guess I made a few too many colossi during my televised matches?

4. Could you compare Protoss in Wings of Liberty to Protoss in HotS? What's your favorite change?

TAiLS: I have to create all new build orders for HotS so it is difficult, but there are so many more build order options available than there were for WoL so it is so much fun. But as of right now, a perfect response to any of the three races does not exist so there is a difficulty behind creating build orders.

5. What's the most difficult thing to deal with as Protoss in HotS right now? (such as widowmines or swarmhots, etc)

TAiLS: Zerg and Terran. T.T I really dislike playing against widowmines for Terran and it is so hard to fight late game army compositions for Zerg. But PvP is all about build orders and since I have fun when it comes to coming up with build orders, it's really good for me.

6. Why did you decide to join team MVP? What is the best thing about team MVP (compared to other teams)?

TAiLS: Initially, I was only playing SC2 on the side as a hobby as I was preparing to take entrance exams for college since I was in my last year of high school. But around, I think December of 2010? When I was a SC1 pro gamer wannabe, a good hyung of mine who I hung out with, told me that a team known as MVP was forming and that they were recruiting players, so he suggested that we both tryout for that team. And that's how I joined team MVP. But that hyung I mentioned earlier wasn't able to get in. T.T Team MVP's supervisor never forgets our birthdays. always takes care of each and every one of us, and has close relationships with each player, so I really like that. Everyone on the team is also really close with one another so it really feels like a family. Honestly, isn't the best thing about a team the fact that everyone can game together in a family-like environment?

7. Which member of Team MVP are you most close with? Do you do anything fun together besides practice?

TAiLS: If I had to pick one, I would say Billowy (Lure) and I kind of always laugh about the same things. He is such a great guy. We go to saunas together, visit valleys together, and just have so much fun together. He also always helps me when I create build orders and need to test them out so I am grateful for that as well.

8. I heard Team MVP plays soccer together as a way to exercise, do you play with them and how good are you at sports?

TAiLS: It's true that our team likes to play soccer quite frequently. But honestly, from a young age, I wasn't very good at athletic activities that involved handling balls. When I first started playing soccer with the team, I even bought soccer cleats so that I could participate but I guess I really suck haha. I'm not sure if it's because I'm bad at it or what but I don't really enjoy playing soccer and I don't really play at all anymore these days.

9. Tell us a funny story that went on in the Team House.

TAiLS: Recently, it was the supervisor's birthday, so we all tried to think of a way to celebrate it in a way that would be memorable forever. So we came up with a plan to surprise him with a hidden camera gag and it ended up being so much fun.Unfortunately, the contents of what happened is a little too strong so... sorry but no further comments. T.T

10. Team MVP sleeps in the same room, right? Who snores the loudest?

TAiLS: Am I allowed to say this? Haha. I honestly believe that our team is compiled with every sleeping habit known to man, haha. Not just snoring but... Well, for starters, no one really snores loudly but Noblesse and I do tend to snore. It's not loud at all though so no worries there. But Noblesse is a little louder than I am.

11. Does everyone eat their own food in Team MVP, or do you take turns cooking for each other?

TAiLS: (This next part kind of confuses me. You see, 이모, initially means aunt. However, if he is talking about an aunt, then whose aunt is he talking about? His? Someone else's? Another person he could be talking about, is the supervisor's wife. Since I don't know for sure, I'm just going to translate.) 이모님 lives at the team house with us and she is amazing at cooking. It feels like eating mom's homemade cooking every single day. She's the mother of team MVP.

12. So you obviously played Sonic the HedgeHog because you picked Tails as your name...what other video games do you like? What games besides StarCraft are you playing right now?

TAiLS: When I was in kindergarten, it's true that I liked playing sonic the hedgehog. However, I haven't played it since then. The reason I came to like the name "Tails", was because I watched an anime called "Sonic X" during my middle school days and that anime was a lot of fun and really sad.I think I've seen it about 3 - 4 times. During the finale of Sonic X, there was a very sad scene involving Tails so I've been using the ID, "Tails", ever since the BW days. Looking back on it now, I guess it was a pretty lame anime but it was just so much fun. I'm gonna recommend Tails. T.T

13. If you had to pick one pro-gamer to live with you on an island for 2 months, who would it be and why?

TAiLS: It would have to be Billowy! (Lure) Billowy is also the chef of team MVP. I think he likes to cook. He's our gourmet chef that can cook all kinds of food. If I had a friend like Billowy on an island with me, I'm sure the experience would be very enjoyable.

14. Do you have any advice for aspiring pro-gamers?

TAiLS: Honestly, you need to have talent along with everything else. I'm sure that every pro gamer out there right now has talent. Of course, the pro gamers out there who have excellent results, pulled that off because they put in more work than others.In the end, it's important to work hard just as much as you have talent. But in my opinion, I think that hard work shows up in the very beginning, but if someone loses his/her aspirations of being a pro gamer, then hard work just dies off naturally.I'm certain that there is no one out there that wants to become a pro gamer who's play with staying somewhere in the middle. I'm sure that if you really wanted to become a pro gamer, then you could become a pro gamer. But that doesn't mean that that's all there is to it. If you want to become the best pro gamer out there, then you shouldn't ever forget that kind of ambition.

15. Any last words for your foreign fans?

TAiLS: I was so moved when I saw that Team Liquid featured a build order of mine on the web site. I am so grateful to everyone who tunes in when I occasionally stream, keep track of how I do in tournaments, and to the people who show interest in the build orders that I do. But even with all these people who care about me and are interested in me, I feel terrible that I can't seem to put up good results in individual leagues. T.T I am going to work really hard so that I can show a great form. ^_^ And to all my fans: I love you. ^_^

Credits

Project Spearheaded by:neoghaleon55TommyPIMJoonaSeeker

Special thanks to Seeker for the translation (both ways!)And apparently, I now owe Seeker my first born for his help with these projects.Seeker's Fan Club

Super Thank You to TAiLS again for being awesome to fans. Good luck with GSTL and all your endeavors!! Sign up for TAiLS's Fan Club!!

And Heart Warming Thank you to TeamLiquid.netWhat would fans like me do without this place?!

On April 10 2013 14:05 lastshadow wrote:이모 is short for aunt, yes. MVP has a cook/maid that cleans both MVPStar2 and MVPLoL. That's who he's referring to. She's actually somewhat close to the players/managers/etc.

On April 10 2013 14:05 lastshadow wrote:이모 is short for aunt, yes. MVP has a cook/maid that cleans both MVPStar2 and MVPLoL. That's who he's referring to. She's actually somewhat close to the players/managers/etc.